Forth

Forth

Forward.

The survival of a new coat of paint relies on the dryness of the shade before it. The same principles apply to our evolving lexicon—time and fresh air convert new jargon into the foundation for fresher phrases. In his “My Boy” freestyle, Wale applies a new layer to the expression “in my bag,” implicating its now-established position in the hip-hop vocabulary. Although the leap to ‘luggage’ is a reasonable one, it still positions ‘bag’ as the base, a hardened hue ready for a new application.

Fourth

Off the podium.

It’s not worth wasting your screen pixels on a treatise regarding FIFA’s 2018 “The Best” Awards. I simply want to offer one fact. Neymar, who scored 28 in all competitions (30 games), led the league with 13 assists (20 games), won 3 trophies, and took his nation to the quarter finals of the World Cup, received zero votes. Not zero first place votes—no votes at all. Even Miranda, his own teammate and Brazilian captain, listed Messi, Ronaldo, and Mbappé over PSG’s number 10. Form dominates ballots, and Neymar’s rolling tour of Russia’s pitches tanked his chances of being recognized as the talent he is.